We are going to work it out on our own

A divorce or family law case can be a stressful experience. For many going through it, communication can be very difficult. For some folks, they cannot communicate on their own such that any fruitful discussions could take place about potential case resolution.

In other cases, the parties have both hired an attorney, but they communicate quite well. Maybe they talk when they are exchanging the children? Maybe they talk about various events involving their children or in other forums.

Obviously, the decision on whether to try this or not is in the hands of the client. If the parties ultimately want to try to conclude the case on their own while discharging their lawyers, they can. The issue is there are multiple complexities that are still out there.

First, if the parties have both hired lawyers and the lawyers have entered their appearance with the court, the lawyers cannot just wash their hands of the matter upon the instructions of the client. The reality is once a lawyer has entered, they would have to file a motion to withdraw and get permission from the judge to withdraw. In many instances, leave to withdraw will ultimately be granted. But this can be an additional time and expense for many clients.

The parties also will need final settlement paperwork put together if they are able to reach a settlement. All the i’s will need to be dotted and t’s crossed. Ultimately, the judge would have to approve any settlement paperwork. In many cases, it can be quite difficult for parties to put together the settlement paperwork properly and obtain the approval of the judge. Further, parties always want to make sure that the paperwork clears up ambiguities and thinks into the future such that future disputes do not arise.

In most circumstances, if the parties are able to settle, it makes more sense to simply let the lawyers draft the final settlement paperwork and conclude the matter versus having their lawyers withdraw and then try to wrap the case up themselves.